Explaining Service Charge to non-cruisers

We’re going on a trip later this month with a large group. People are complaining about the daily service charge and gratuities. They haven’t cruised before and I’ve done my best to explain what these are but they don’t understand why they’re paying this much in “tips” (their wording not mine).

How do I accurately explain to them why we’re paying these and what they’re for!

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Have them read what NCL says about both tips and DSC in their FAQ on their web site.

Because I know it’s going to be asked, would they just go to Guest Services to have them adjusted or removed?

 

 

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Yes. They will either remove them right then or give you a form and send a rebate check a few weeks later.

What’s there to explain? It’s a service charge/gratuity. Do they not understand what that is? If they think it’s too much then they should probably re-consider their vacation. I️ mean what is it? Like $13/day/person? How is that a lot compared to the actual cost of the cruise?

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What’s there to explain? It’s a service charge/gratuity. Do they not understand what that is? If they think it’s too much then they should probably re-consider their vacation. I️ mean what is it? Like $13/day/person? How is that a lot compared to the actual cost of the cruise?

 

 

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Normally I would agree but to be honest, this trip was a gift to them. So if you want to compare it to what THEY paid for the trip then the DSC and gratuities are a lot more than what THEY paid.

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Remind them that they tip waiters at restaurants...and housekeepers at hotels (well, they are supposed to!), and that is what the DSC does. They need not extend any more money, but the DSC covers ALL who will serve them on the ship. Tell them it's a part of the cruise price and they will soon understand it after they've cruised.

Even if you are "comped" a meal at a restaurant, you still tip the person who served you...it's only mannerly.

Honestly, it's not any different (except more $) than a resort fee you'd pay in Hawaii, Florida, and many other places. And there, you do not have the option of removing it in most cases.

I will also add, I didn't understand it either on our first cruise. We were with a group also, but it wasn't a gift. When we were on the ship, we then understood what it was for. Hard to explain that to people who haven't ever cruised before.

Here we go again. and again. and again.

** If I were explaining to a novice that is not about to read the FAQ, rules, policies, or cruise critic, here is what I would say.

In the past, on the last night, you would sit down and fill out envelopes for various cruise staff and insert money. Now, you no longer have to do that, and it is a fixed amount. Done.No decision. No not worrying about anything. So much easier.

STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP

Before you respond, please read the ** note above. Not saying this is or is not a tip, or dsc, or anything else.

"It's the tips. Too many people were stiffing the crew, so they made it automatic."

That's all you need to say.

And for anyone giving a cruise as a gift, PAY THE GRATUITIES. A gift where the recipient has to pay money isn't a good gift.

With group cruises we’ve realized it’s just easier to pay the gratuities/Service Charge with the cost of the cruise. Lot less hair pulling.

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Tell them that it is one place under American customs that there is no need to tip anyone unless you want to because they have given exemplary service. The Service Charge takes care of that.

Being Americans they will expect to tip EVERYONE on shore who does the slightest thing for them, paying the Service Charge exonerates them from doing that on board.

Normally I would agree but to be honest, this trip was a gift to them. So if you want to compare it to what THEY paid for the trip then the DSC and gratuities are a lot more than what THEY paid.

 

 

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Then it 'should' be a no brainer! The cruise was a GIFT .... pay it forward and pay the gratuities ... a couple/few hundred bucks for a week long cruise!???!

98 bucks per person for a free cruise for a week and they are complaining.

Wow, what ingrates.

Strange adults would need an explanation.

It is a service based experience and it is customary to tip servers just like a restaurant on land. If they can't comprehend that then suggest they stay home.

The service charges are the tips for all the crew members that bust their butts for us every waking moment. It includes the "invisible" behind the scenes people that would normally be totally forgotten. Like the engine maintenance crew, the kitchen staff, the people that are constantly cleaning, painting, fixing things on the ship, the laundry staff... the list is large. There is literally an army of people that we may never see or acknowledge- but without them, the cruise would not be the pleasant experience that we vacationers have come to expect. I'm sure you have noticed that most are from very poor countries, they work for comparatively low wages- a lot less than Americans would be willing to work for. They are away from their families for months at a time, and what money they do make they send back to their families who may have little or nothing. We are all "rich" in comparison. Please don't whine about paying these hard-working people the extra money they deserve- and other wise would never get, if it weren't for the service charges. If you can afford a cruise, you can afford to open your wallet a little wider to help them make a decent living. If the tables were turned, would you not appreciate the extra financial help?

The service charges are the tips for all the crew members that bust their butts for us every waking moment. It includes the "invisible" behind the scenes people that would normally be totally forgotten. Like the engine maintenance crew, the kitchen staff, the people that are constantly cleaning, painting, fixing things on the ship, the laundry staff... the list is large. There is literally an army of people that we may never see or acknowledge- but without them, the cruise would not be the pleasant experience that we vacationers have come to expect. I'm sure you have noticed that most are from very poor countries, they work for comparatively low wages- a lot less than Americans would be willing to work for. They are away from their families for months at a time, and what money they do make they send back to their families who may have little or nothing. We are all "rich" in comparison. Please don't whine about paying these hard-working people the extra money they deserve- and other wise would never get, if it weren't for the service charges. If you can afford a cruise, you can afford to open your wallet a little wider to help them make a decent living. If the tables were turned, would you not appreciate the extra financial help?

The truth is the crew are paid a contracted salary that is about triple the amount the same type of work pays in their home countries if they can find a job. They have a union that spells out the wages and working conditions, and these are in accordance with ILO standards.

The crew members I know want respect, not a pity party.

We paid for an anniversary cruise for a relative's 50th anniversary. We paid the DSC.

We told them that all they are responsible for was their personal expenses. We even

paid for the transfers to the ship and back. If I couldn't have afforded to do that I would

have told them I can contribute a certain amount for the cruise and let them sort it out

from there. I don't like resort fees or very high hotel occupancy taxes either but it is

a fact of life when traveling. To answer your specific question I would just refer them to

the NCL site so they could read and decide for themselves as I don't fully grasp it

either but I pay it all the time anyway.

Tipping the staff has been the norm for decades. Since the start of freestyle dining, the old method of tipping out the people who have served you all week no longer worked, since there are different people, so you just get charged the same amount as what was the expected tip.

Do your friends go out to dinner and not leave tips?

Here we go again. and again. and again.

 

** If I were explaining to a novice that is not about to read the FAQ, rules, policies, or cruise critic, here is what I would say.

 

In the past, on the last night, you would sit down and fill out envelopes for various cruise staff and insert money. Now, you no longer have to do that, and it is a fixed amount. Done.No decision. No not worrying about anything. So much easier.

 

STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP

Before you respond, please read the ** note above. Not saying this is or is not a tip, or dsc, or anything else.

This. If they have only taken vacations where they fly to a hotel and pay as they go, it’s a tougher pill to swallow to do a large daily tip. But when you travel on an organized tour or cruise ship, you are expected to tip daily. For organized tours you often give your tip to the tour leader and that person makes sure that bus drivers, tour guides, bellhops, plus themselves get a slice of the pie. On a cruise ships you pay it to the cruise line and they make sure your room stewards and wait staff get a slice of the pie. Make sure they understand that the workers on the ship are in a similar position to wait staff in the US where the tips make up a bulk of their income.

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Remind them that they tip waiters at restaurants...and housekeepers at hotels (well, they are supposed to!), and that is what the DSC does. They need not extend any more money, but the DSC covers ALL who will serve them on the ship. Tell them it's a part of the cruise price and they will soon understand it after they've cruised.

 

Even if you are "comped" a meal at a restaurant, you still tip the person who served you...it's only mannerly.

This imo is the best explanation. If they took a land trip, their tips for breakfast, lunch, dinner, maid, bellman would be like the DSC.

Just ask the passengers to remove the DSC from their account at customer service on board if they don’t want to pay it. That is what I will be doing on my Next cruise.

There is no rule saying you have to pay it if you don’t want to.

Any Cash in Hand to any staff member they keep 100%, they do not turn it in, according to GS Director on the Sky this week.

You can modify DSC any amount you wish to, up, down, etc.

You fill out a form onboard and it is posted to your account same day.

I chose to pay cash along the way to those providing me service, I was told I could not use the modification form until the last full day of the cruise and did so. Took all of 20 seconds and posted to my onboard account that evening. No guilt, no hassle, no problem, everyone that provided us service was well compensated with cash along the way with an additional amount on top provided to our room attendant. There was a section on the form to ask if we had any deficiency in service and I wrote in honestly that service was fine, I preferred to pay cash directly. Guest Services Director confirmed that many choose to do the same. Guest services provided us envelopes and additional Vacation Hero cards at our request.

However your party decides they would like to handle their personal finance is 100% fine, one way is not more right or wrong than another. It is just whatever your preference is.

The crew tips are different than the DSC. They can keep the cash tips, but the cruise line takes the money from the DSC.

This matches what management told me onboard this week as well.

What’s there to explain? It’s a service charge/gratuity. Do they not understand what that is? If they think it’s too much then they should probably re-consider their vacation. I️ mean what is it? Like $13/day/person? How is that a lot compared to the actual cost of the cruise?

 

 

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Additionally if they think it's too much...

They can reduce or remove it or come to a happy medium of some sort

However you should not try to guilt trip them

Remember everything goes nowadays in our society so if a pax wants to reduce they can...and they should not be ostracized for it

Unless someone is doing something illegal they should not be guilted. Period

And please no commentary about the poor lowly paid crew

Ncl allows reduction or removal so if you want to criticize anyone it should be ncl

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